What, exactly, do we mean when we call someone a "character"? In a word: distinctiveness. A player could be funny. He could be strange. He could be downright weird. All of these traits — either in combination or on their own — and others could qualify a player for inclusion on this list.

On the court: Love is one of the game's top power forwards, and he possesses an uncommon set of skills. In 2010-11, he won the league's rebounding title by averaging 15.2 boards per game, and he also shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range. Too bad he plays for a bad team.

What makes him a character: One of Love's uncles is Mike Love, a member of The Beach Boys. But Love's game isn't California cool; it's primarily blue-collar, as shown by his impressive rebounding numbers. . . . Grounded by the lockout, Love recently competed in a pro beach volleyball event. . . . Still, what separates Love is his sense of humor. Love recently made a subtle dig at former T-Wolves coach Kurt Rambis by tweeting, "Appreciate Jesse Rambis doing work on the beach volleyball courts this morning. Gotta say, he might be the best Rambis I've been coached by." . . . Oh, if you didn't think he was influenced by the 1960s, consider what he tweeted over the weekend as Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast. Love tweeted, "Mother Earth is speaking to us."